Broken: The Second Story
by Herald Kelsin
Summary: Some of you may have read my one-shot "Broken" about a Herald Trainee who's bond with his Companion is voluntarily broken. Well, I wasn't happy with the way it turned out, so I rewrote it as a short fic, which is this. !COMPLETE!
1. Marit

Disclaimer: The ideas and such belong to Mercedes Lackey. The only thing I own is characters and plot.

This is just an angst-y one-shot type thing that I thought of. Basically, a Karsite is Chosen, like Alberich. Like Alberich, he is angry and confused. Like Alberich, he is offered the opportunity to have the Herald-Companion bond broken. Unlike Alberich, however, he accepts. What will happen to him?

One-shot, mainly written to get rid of writers block on my other story, so it might not be that good. Assume its somewhere in history. I know that Alberich was the first Karsite adult Chosen, but just let this guy be. After all, it is a failed Choosing, sort of.

Now, reviews:

Tenshi: Yeah, thanks. It was supposed to be sad and depressing.

Breezefire: Yeah, maybe you're right. It should have been worse. I'll try to make it worse.

Fireblade: Thanks. But you're right; it could have been much better. I'm going to attempt to fix it.

Wizard: Thanks! I hope you like this version as well.

Crinzin: Thanks!

Akatrin: You're right. I was sort of bent on keeping it a one-shot, but maybe I'll turn it into a short-fic.

AtheneMiranda: Yes, you're right. Thank you very much for your review; it was what really made me decide to try again with this idea. I hope you're happier with version two and hope you find time to read it and review.

I decided to rewrite, even though most of my reviews came back good, because I really wasn't happy with the way it turned out. I'm going to also try changing it from a song-fic to a non song-fic. Tell me what you think.

There will be more chapters after this one. One more, probably. I won't tell you what it will be, though. You'll just have to wait and see.

Chapter 1: Marit

Marit stared gloomily at the tools in his hands. Calloused as his hands were from the hard work of the years, they were beginning to ache at the thought of more planting.

He was supposed to be planting the new crop. His neck and shoulders still ached from the last all day planting session, along with his hands, but he knew that he needed to get the crops in or there would be nothing to eat.

'What with the ridiculous taxes the Sunpriests had been demanding lately, it was a wonder I can even feed myself. Thank the Sunlord I don't have a family to provide for as well!'

Marit squashed that thought firmly back into the mental cupboard it had emerged from. Rank heresy such as that was sure to be punished harshly. The Sunpriests had their ways of ferreting out traitors within the fold, and Marit had no desire to be fodder for the night-demons that roamed Karse, searching out the unfaithful.

Marit's life consisted of one weary routine after another. Since his father's death, he had managed the farm for himself and his mother. As the years passed, she too had sought out the peace of the Sunlord, and Marit had been left alone.

He knew that most people were content, even happy to do what he did. Work in the fields from dawn until dusk, feeding themselves from the profits of their labor, but Marit had never been happy.

He had learned from a very young age not to be lonely, or at least not to be aware of it if he was. Still, he felt almost incomplete. As though he was missing a vital part, and could never be happy or whole until he found it.

The work Marit did, hard physical labor though it was, was incredibly mindless. The same thing, over and over again. As such, it left a plentitude of thinking time, and Marit did not like the way his thoughts had been turning.

Sometimes, he just wanted to leave. Go somewhere else, anywhere else, just to escape the constant sensation of lack.

Marit had only planted about one row when he heard the silvery chime of hoof beats. Being a farm child, and then an adult farmer himself, he knew exactly what a horse sounded like, and that wasn't quite it. It was almost like a horse, but yet it was something more, more than a horse could ever be.

Marit felt a warm breath on his shoulder. He swore softly, sure that one of his animals had somehow escaped again. Then, he turned slowly to find that he was looking straight into the eyes of a white horse. Farmer though he was, Marit was certainly not stupid. He knew what a white horse meant, especially when it was near the Valdemaran border. It was one of the feared Demon Horses of Valdemar, Karse's eternal foes! The soul stealer of legend and lore!

He started to take a step backwards, planning to run before the thing could catch him and steal his soul, but then he met it's eyes.

_:Marit, I am no hell-demon. I am a Companion. My name is Sunia. You are my Chosen, and I will never leave you.:_

Marit's mouth opened wide in shock. Surely having his soul consumed shouldn't feel so good. For it did feel good. It felt as though he was drowning in a sea of clear blue water, or floating in it, more likely. The water was all around him, warm and comforting, supporting him and holding him up.

He was losing something, something was leaving him. He felt a moment's panic, sure that his soul was being sucked out through his eyes, but then he felt it. The hole that had always been within his soul, exposed and made wider for a moment, began to fill. It filled with the purest love and compassion, more pure than Marit had thought existed in this world or the next.

With a great effort, he jerked himself out of the semi-trance he had fallen into.

"NO!" He yelled as loudly as he could. He could hear the sounds of the soldier stationed with the Sunpriests down in the village making their way up the hill. They must have been following the Hell Demon. He looked over to see them charging as fast as they could, arms at the ready. Surely they would arrive in time!

_:Chosen, I'm sorry, but they are coming. We must be away before they get here.:_

Marit felt a tinge of gentle regret, and then he was standing up, walking towards the hell-demon and mounting it. His mind struggled incoherently against the bonds that had been placed on it, and Marit cried out in terror, or tried to. He could not open his mouth or move in any way that the hell-demon did not direct. Under her control, he crouched low over her neck, his mind flinching away from the beast, sure that even now, she was taking his soul away from him. He could not resist, could not move, though he struggled with all of his willpower.

He felt a gentle regret in his mind, then everything went black and Marit knew nothing more.

When Marit awoke, he was nearly incoherent with terror. Everything was different. He had no idea where he was. This place was strange and alien, the walls painted a shade of green that he would never have allowed in his home, a pale garden-variety green. The bed was far softer and more luxuriant than he was accustomed to, with plump pillows, and even the air smelled different. Then, there was the matter of Her. He was never unaware that there was another presence in his mind, sitting in the back of it, ready to jump out. It was like his clothes didn't quite fit, and were rubbing constantly, no matter how much he tried to put it out of his mind.

He slowly opened his eyes and stretched, trying to smooth his coarse sandy hair into some sort of order with his hand. As his blurry double visions converged into the room he was in, he saw a young man standing in front of him. He was a tall brunette, hair confined into a horsetail behind his head. He was wearing, Marit shuddered in terror, the distinctive white uniform of Karse's traditional enemies. The hell-horse had delivered him right into the hands of the most dangerous enemy Karse had!

The demon-rider opened his mouth, and out came a torrent of friendly sounding babble, of which Marit understood not one word.

Marit flinched as he heard the voice in his head again.

_:Oops, sorry, dear. Forgot to give you the language.:_

Marit grimaced in fear and discomfort as he felt a sharp twist in his brain. He blinked, seeing double again for a second.

The demon-rider stared off into space for a second, then smiled in a way that Marit supposed was meant to be friendly, although it felt anything but.

"I am Dean Ayren. You must be our newest Trainee, Marit. You can understand me, yes?"

"And I would not be able to, why? Karsite, you are speaking, no?" Marit replied, puzzled.

"Actually, no. Your Companion, that's Sunia, should have given you the basics of the Valdemaran tongue just now. Unless I miss my guess, that is what you just spoke, is it not?"

"To my life, what have you done? Your Hell Demon carry me off, did. Why?" Marit asked, ignoring the Dean's question, as he had certain more pressing questions of his own to which he needed answers. He was hardly going to ask the hell-demon, and this demon-rider seemed strangely willing to help.

"To make you one of us." The Dean replied, seemingly unconscious of the turmoil is Marit's mind.

"No! Join you, I will not! Kill my people, you did. Unleash demons upon them, you did. Unleash this demon, Sunia, on me, you did! Go away, make this."

"Marit, you can stay here with your Companion and become one of us. She is not a demon; she will be your best friend, the true companion of your heart and soul, if you will allow her to. We never did what you think. I promise you, things are a lot different here than you have been told." The Dean said calmly.

"Want this, I don't. Make it go away, can you?" Marit insisted. He was not going to be fooled by a demon-rider into betraying everything he believed in!

"Well, Marit, there is a way, I must admit. We do not usually tell this to our Trainees, but your situation is different for several reasons. It is possible for us to break the bond you have with Sunia, your Companion. There is a drawback, though. It will leave you both, well, broken." The Dean said, reluctantly. "Surely you have always felt alone, maybe a little bit lost? If you lose Sunia, now that you have just found her, all of that old pain will return, but ten times greater than it ever was. And there is no going back. If you choose this, we cannot undo what we have done."

"It, do."

"Are you sure, Marit? If you do this, there's no going back. Please reconsider. We, the Heralds, need you."

"This, I do not want. My farm, all I want, is."

"Alright, Marit. But we cannot do this yet. Once you have spent a little time with your Companion, you may change your mind. Please think it over. We will give you a sleeping draught to make you sleep until tomorrow and regain the last of your strength. When you awaken, we will allow you to make your final decision."

Marit sighed at the delay, but who knew what horrible magics the demon-rider would perform on him if angered. He reluctantly agreed and took the sleeping draught.

Unknown to Marit, as he dropped off into sleep, he reached out a tender mental hand for Sunia, holding her tightly as he slept, as a little holds a favorite toy, protection from the monsters in the nighttime.

The next morning, Marit arose with the sun, as was his habit. The Healers had left more medicine for him to take, so he downed it, finding that it took away the last of the pain he was feeling.

After about half a mark, the Dean showed up, again dressed in immaculate white demon-rider garb.

He saw the look on Marit's face, and hardly needed to ask his question, although he did anyway, with a feeling of deep despair in his heart for Sunia and Marit.

"Marit, do you still want to go through with this?" The Dean asked gently.

Marit was doubtful. He remembered the peaceful feeling of sleeping with Sunia in the back of his mind, remembered the instant he had first seen her, how beautiful and loving she had been. He opened his mouth, preparing to say that he would stay, but then he remembered the teachings of the Sunpriests.

These demon-riders were evil! They would corrupt him, force him to kill his own people, unleash more demons upon his own land. He would not succumb to their will! He would not allow them to make him into a traitor to his own country!

"It, do. Chosen, I have."

"Very well." Ayren said, his eyes pain-filled.

Marit felt Sunia in his mind, for the last time. Her tone was heartbreaking, but he steeled his resolve. He savored the moment, holding it close in his mind, holding every memory of her tight to his heart, knowing that he would never feel this complete again.

It was only right that he sacrifice his happiness for the life of his people, and surely he would not be that happy anyway. Surely it was not a real feeling, but a projection from the demon-riders.

Still, Marit could hardly bear to let her go. He tried to fix her in his mind exactly as she was, knowing that he would never again hear her voice, except in dreams.

_:Oh Chosen, my Chosen, my love, is this what you want? I love you. I just want you to be happy, but I want you to be happy with me. I know you love me, and you could be happy here if you tried! Are you sure about this, Chosen?:_

_:Do it.: _He thought at her as loudly as he could, barely containing the sob that rose in his throat.

He could already feel her remote withdrawal, bracing herself for the pain.

_:Very well, love.:_

Marit felt as though he was falling. Some part of him that he never knew he had was splintering into thousands of pieces. He must surely be dying of the pain. In his mortal form, tears began to slip down his cheeks, unchecked. The pain, the pain. The cold, harsh pain. Like a thousand swords of ice protruding into him everywhere and shattering. Somewhere far away, he heard himself scream.

Every nerve was on fire with heat and cold at the same time, but the physical pain was not the worst part. There was such bleak drear emptiness, as though Marit wandered forever on a gray plain, devoid of sight or sound, never again to be complete. Then, suddenly, there was blackness, but, in it's own way, it hurt worse than the pain or the grayness. There was nothing in the blackness. No touch, no senses at all.

Marit could no longer even feel his own body. He was alone, so achingly alone. He must surely be dying from the pain of it. Then, mercifully, Merit fainted.

When Marit first awoke, he couldn't remember why he hurt. Then, it all came back to him. Unconsciously, he reached out for Sunia and found that she was not there. Tears began to roll down his cheeks again. He wanted her, he needed her.

When he looked up, the Dean was still standing there, waiting for Marit to awake. He seemed to ignore Marit's tears.

"You are free to go." He said, not unkindly, feeling the farmer's pain in every limb of his own body, but unable to help.

"Sunia. Where?" Marit gasped out the words, barely able to speak.

"Gone. The bond has been broken. It will get better over time, though you will never be fully whole. She will be out in the field. She will pine herself to death, in all likelihood, longing for you. You will live, but you will always be without her."

In the few short days that Marit had been bonded to Sunia, she had worked her way into every crevice of his heart. With the untrained power of his mind alone, he reached after her, crying out for her with his mind. He cried out for her, but she did not come. She had left him.

He knew that she would come if she could, but she could no longer hear him.

Marit left the house of Healing and began stumbling blindly, he had no idea where. He felt filled with pain. The pain was taking him over. Surely the cold emptiness would kill him any moment. There was truly nothing left.

He passed a field. It was filled with Hell Demons, no, Companions. One, the saddest looking, was bending over the fence looking at him. Somehow, he knew that it was Her, although he could not feel her with his mind.

As he watched, the Companion shed a single tear, eyes brimming with many more. Her every movement spoke of despair and hopelessness, so deeply did she mourn the loss of her Chosen.

_:Sunia, Sunia. I love you, I need you. Take me back.:_ Marit sobbed in apology, dropping to his knees in front of her. He would pay any price, overcome any hardship to be with her. 

She turned her back, although not before Marit could see the pain written in every line of that beautiful, familiar form. She may as well have been in Karse for all that Marit could make her hear him. He sank to the ground, unable to move.

He watched her walk away. Through his tears, he could see her. There were many Companions, so many, but he would know her anywhere.

He fixed her in his mind one last time, holding the memory close. It was all he would ever have of her.

He gathered it in his mind, her perfect tail, smooth white flank and soft coat. The poetry of her motion. He held it close to his heart, as close as he had once held her.

"I love you, Sunia." He whispered tearfully to the dirt. "I'm sorry."


	2. Sunia

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own, sorry.

This will be the last real chapter of this short-fic. It's a really SHORT short-fic. This chapter is just the same events, but from Sunia's point of view. After this chapter, probably tomorrow or after all the reviews come in for this chapter, I'll publish a short epilogue as chapter three, then that will be the end.

Anyway, thanks for the lovely reviews, they made me very happy.

Wizard: Thankies, here's your update!

Vaches: Thanks! That part was a new addition of mine. It made me sad having to write it, but I thought it made sense.

Tenshi: Thanks! I thought it was much improved, myself.

Fireblade: Thanks a bunch! It was supposed to make you cry Writing it nearly made me cry.

Breezefire: Thanks! Hope you like this chapter too!

Queens Own: Yes, I'm going to write another chapter, one more. I hope you like.

On a different note, the next chapter of Greens is coming soon, I promise! My evil writer's block has conspired with the huge brick wall living in my head to prevent me from writing the next chapter. I'm stuck on the first sentence, but I'm working on it. Hopefully the next chapter will come soon.

Anyway, on with the show!

Chapter 2: Sunia

Sunia pranced in place, showing all of the impetuous, sunny and life-loving nature that her name and easily derived nickname promised.

_:What's got you so excited, Sunnie?: _Varen, Sunia's best friend among the Companions, asked interestedly. _:Not that you aren't always excited, but you seem.: _He paused for effect, watching Sunia cavort around the field, chasing random butterflies and trampling the grass. _:As I said, you seem especially excited today.:_

Sunia nearly burst with excitement, paused a moment for suspense, then couldn't hold her secret in any more. _:MY CALL!: _She Shouted, nearly deafening every Companion within the Collegium and quite a few humans with a Gift strong enough to reach Companion MindSpeech channels.

Varen laid his ears flat in discomfort, but perked up as the import of Sunia's words hit him.

_:Your Call came! That's great! When are you going to go on Search? It could take a long time to find your Chosen, you know.: _Varen said, with a slight air of superiority. Of all of their friends, Varen had been the first to Choose, and considered himself the resident expert on Calls and Choosing.

_:I can sense that my Chosen is far away. I'm going now! Bye!: _Sunia said suddenly, nearly blinding Varen with the dust she kicked up in the wake of her passing.

The wanderlust and longing to be on the road that had been building in Sunia for the past moon suddenly reached a crescendo, filling her up with the need to be on the road, to be moving.

Sunia galloped to the stables, waiting to be tacked up with an air of such distinct impatience that even the stableboys were aware of it.

As she galloped past the gates enclosing the Palace grounds, passing the startled guard, begrudging him even the second it took him to read the name listed in short form on her tack, the Groveborn's MindVoice echoed in her head.

_:Sunia?:_

_:Taver. I'm going now, on my Call! I'm going to find my Chosen!:_

_:Yes, I can see that, Sunnie. Of course, if you had forgotten, I had told you to tell me BEFORE you left, not on your way out the gate as you suddenly remember that there is still a world outside your Call.: _Taver said disapprovingly.

Sunia's MindVoice drooped as she answered.

_:I'm sorry, Taver, I must have forgotten.:_

_:Never mind, Sunnie. I just wanted to wish you the best of Choosings and the brightest of futures for yourself and your Chosen.:_

_:Thank you Taver.:_

Sunia could feel Taver's mental smile as he gently disengaged from their link.

Resolutely, Sunia turned her thoughts outward. She could hardly wait to find out what her Chosen would be like! She knew that he was male; she could feel that from the occasional visions she had of him. She knew he lived far away, in the direction of the Karsite border, and, from what she could feel; he was no adolescent, but an adult in his own right.

Sunia wondered what he would look like. She rather hoped that he would be able to ride, as having to teach a Trainee from scratch would be rather a pain. Sunia would do it if she had do, for His sake, but she would prefer it if he could already ride.

As the days wore on, Sunia's life on the road faded into a comfortable routine. Wake up, find a nice patch of grass, breakfast, gallop on towards where her feelings told her that her Chosen waited, pass through a few villages, maybe scrounge lunch from a helpful villager, find some grass, eat supper, sleep, and start again.

She hated the villages the most. For all that most of their inhabitants would give her snacks, which made a nice change from grass, Sunia knew that they were all watching her.

They were watching, waiting, devouring her with their hungry eyes, hoping that she would stop in front of them, save them from their simple lives, carry them away to a happily ever after.

And that is why she would not Choose them. They were not hers. They would never be hers. They would never be Heralds. They dreamed of being Heralds for glory or power, would never sacrifice life for state the way a Herald must.

Some were able to make the cruel transition from servant of self to servant of the Monarch, but these were not.

Sunia could hardly bear to look into their eyes and refuse them, but she could not insert a bond where there was none.

Unlike most magic, the binding magic that Companions used to bond to their Heralds was only available once, under a certain set of circumstances. A Companion only had the strength to forge that bond once. They got one chance, and then that magic was lost to them forever.

The only exception to this was the Monarch's Own stallion, who had powers above those of ordinary Companions, and could access the magic more than once.

Sunia would know when it was her time to use the portion of that magic that she was allotted.

Sunia spent her days daydreaming of her Chosen. What would he be like? Sunia knew she would love him no matter what he turned out to be, but she could hardly contain her impatience to know.

Sunia was so deeply lost in her thoughts that she did not immediately register that she had reached the Karsite border. The Guards stationed there would not stop a Companion, even, or perhaps especially, one without a Herald.

'He can't be.' She thought to herself. 'My Chosen is a Karsite?'

Sunia couldn't believe it. For a second she had thought her Chosen was a Karsite. How ridiculous! Obviously, someone from Valdemar had gotten stuck behind the border and decided to stay. Sunia would just bring him home and that would be that!

Sunia could not believe that lie for more than an instant, however. In the middle of an unofficial war, any of their people would have been swiftly burned in the great fires of the Sunpriests.

'He is a Karsite.' She thought slowly, trying to work it through. 'I gave my heart to Valdemar's enemy, sight unseen.'

'It does not matter!' She thought rebelliously. 'He is my Chosen, I love him and I would not be Called to him if he were not Heraldic material. I will make the others accept him somehow. He is my love and we will be together.'

She galloped past the astonished guards, so caught up in her rebellion that she didn't notice the group of Karsite soldiers patrolling the woods she was in until she was almost on top of them.

Almost as one, they spotted her and began to pursue. "A demon-horse! After her!" One of the soldiers, clad as a Karsite officer, shouted.

'I think not!' Sunia thought, terrified but keeping her head. She whirled and prepared to lead them on a merry chase in the direction of her Chosen.

It was nearly half a Candlemark before Sunia managed to gain enough distance from her pursuers to head away from the border and closer to her Chosen. When she finally reached the place where all of her instincts told her that her Chosen was, she was ahead of the soldiers by only a few minutes.

She dashed up the hill, and halted. Her nerves, strung taut by the nearness of her Choosing, thrummed recognition.

Her Chosen was there, planting in the field, his back turned. He had sandy blonde hair, rumpled into a mop on the top of his head. He was well muscled and competent looking, wearing the coarse clothes of a peasant.

She walked up to him as quietly as she could, lifting her hooves high in her fanciest gait and bringing them down with the sound of silver bells chiming.

When she was just behind him, she blew on his shoulder, waiting for him to acknowledge her. When he did, it was not with the reaction she craved.

He turned around, swearing in coarse Karsite. His eyes were widened in fear, and he began to move backwards, as though to run away. Sunia could feel the fear striking out from his mind, the thought that she was some sort of hell-demon and she felt for him, but she knew that she had very little time.

She stared into his impossibly blue eyes, reaffirming her Choice to herself. 'Yes, he is the one. This is him.'

She reached out for his mind, expending, for the first and only time, the magic that would allow her to bind them together.

When the subject of Choosing had come up in her classes, she had been disdainful of the clichéd words that nearly every Companion used. Yet now, she intoned them without the slightest sense of irony. They were right.

_:Marit, I am no hell-demon. I am a Companion. My name is Sunia. You are my Chosen, and I will never leave you.:_

Sunia could feel Marit beginning to lose himself in the song of soul-binding that she was weaving around them. She riffled through his every memory, his every thought was hers, until they were almost less than two people.

She drowned him in the sapphire depths of her eyes, but she felt that she was surely drowning in his eyes as well. Surely they were two that were made for each other.

Yet, at that moment of great intimacy, something of Marit's old self remained.

"NO!" He screamed, hitting out with his voice and his untrained mind. Sunia could feel the terror still rolling off of him, but equally she could feel the growing pressure of the minds of the soldiers that had followed her. She needed to be away before they reached her!

She gently inserted herself into Marit's mind, dulling his fear as much as she could.

_:Chosen, I'm sorry, but they are coming. We must be away before they get here.:_ She said, filled with more regret than she could speak that their bonding had had to begin this way.

Sunia felt as though she was growing up all at once. She had taken the decision upon herself and made it. She would see herself and her Chosen through if she had to drag him to Haven in her teeth! Even if he hated her for it, she would take him with her.

She slipped deeper into his mind, like a swimmer edging into the frigid water of the Terilee in winter. Carefully, causing as little pain as she could, she took control of Marit's mind from him, crying inside at the necessity and at the terror of the portion of his mind that was still aware of what she had done to it.

She forced him to mount, to lean forward and brace himself in the saddle, then she took to her heels, fleeing past the border and to the protection of the guards.

The flight to Haven was an unadulterated nightmare. After the first few yards, she had had to knock Marit out completely, so much did his mind fight her. Then, still newly bonded, she had to use every wile and skill at her command to lose her pursuers while still keeping Marit in the saddle.

When she got to Haven, after nearly a week of hard riding at her fastest pace, eager to get to Haven with her Chosen, she resigned Marit to the care of the Healers and went to the stable to see her friends and get some well-deserved rest. She hadn't had a proper night's sleep for nearly a week.

Sunia was awakened many Candlemarks later by a fresh shriek of terror that coursed it's way down the newly opened Herald Bond, ripping at the tender new passages in Sunia's mind as it made it's way to her.

She winced and bolted out of the stable. She had better be there when Marit woke up, or he would be even more confused and disoriented.

Sunia arranged herself in some bushes outside the window of the room in Healers where Marit was being kept. After a few minutes, Varen snuck up behind her and positioned himself beside her.

_:Sunnie! You're back! I missed you! You Chose? What's he like?:_

Sunia startled. _:Varen! You just scared five years off of my life! He's, well, he's a bit unconventional, but he has the makings of a Herald, for certain.:_

_:Stop beating around the bush, Sunnie! What did you come back with?:_

With a mental cough, Sunia admitted _:I seem to have Chosen a Karsite.:_

_:You Chose a WHAT?:_ Usually, Varen was extremely even-tempered, but Sunia's announcement had driven him completely over the edge.

_:A Karsite. Someone from Karse. And I had a time getting him out, too.:_

_:Sunia, Sunnie, those are the people that KILL our Heralds, and you are going to make one of them into a Herald?:_

_:They aren't all like that, Varen. Look.:_

She projected into Varen's mind images from Marit's past. Feeding a small stray kitten, taking care of his elderly mother even when she was too feeble to help bring in the harvest.

_:Well, I suppose you would not have been Called to him if he would not make a good Herald.:_

_:I wonder if he's up?:_

Sunia peeked through the window in time to see Dean Ayren enter the room and begin talking to Marit. Marit's face was a study in blank incomprehension. Sunia winced.

_ :Oops, sorry, dear. Forgot to give you the language.:_ Sunia said, reaching into Marit's mind and making the changes that would allow him to speak and understand Valdemaran as easily as his native Karsite.

Sunia fell into a daydream of life as a partnered Companion. She could already see herself and Marit riding circuit together, being together all the time, and spending the rest of their lives together.

She was jolted out of her daydream by the Dean's voice, saying "Well, Marit, there is a way, I must admit. We do not usually tell this to our Trainees, but your situation is different for several reasons. It is possible for us to break the bond you have with Sunia, your Companion. There is a drawback, though. It will leave you both, well, broken." The Dean said, reluctantly. "Surely you have always felt alone, maybe a little bit lost? If you lose Sunia, now that you have just found her, all of that old pain will return, but ten times greater than it ever was. And there is no going back. If you choose this, we cannot undo what we have done."

'He wants to break our bond?' He can't!' Sunia's first thought was complete and utter disbelief.

But, obviously, he did. Even in mangled Karsite syntax, there are some things that cannot be misinterpreted. "It, do." Is one of them.

The shock rolled through Sunia like a physical blow. She had given everything, brought Marit back from the Karsite border at great personal risk, and all he wanted to do was to leave her.

Marit did not know, and, by the strictest rules governing Companions, Sunia could not tell him that to choose this was to force her to strike her own deathblow. The pain of the broken bond would drive her to the Havens, as it did for every other Companion who lost their Herald.

Dimly, as though through water, Sunia heard the Dean tell Marit to sleep on it, to make sure that he was fully aware of what he was doing.

Varen, in an uncharacteristic display of affection, nuzzled Sunia comfortingly.

_:Sunnie, many newly Chosen wish to break the bond, they all change their minds. Marit will too, just give him time.:_

_:I'm not leaving him.:_

_:Sunnie, nobody asked you to, yet. Remember, though, what you must do if the time comes.:_

Despite Varen's assurances and gentle words, Sunia felt a sense of foreboding.

Even after Marit had drank the Healer's sleeping draught, she did not move from that window. Just in case anything did happen, she wanted to spend as much time as she could with Marit.

As Marit drifted off to sleep, he extended an unconscious mental hand towards Sunia. She grasped it, holding it close, rocking herself to sleep with her Chosen by her side.

The next morning, Sunia awoke to find herself surrounded by other Companions. Not just Varen, but Taver and nearly every other Companion in the field had gathered around to be with Sunia.

This fact filled her with chills. If Marit's desire to have their bond broken was just a passing fantasy, surely the other Companions would not have clustered around her like that.

Sunia firmly banished that thought, admonishing herself to have confidence.

As Dean Ayren entered the room, Sunia could barely stand to look. He asked Marit if he still wanted the bond broken.

Sunia felt a surge of relief. She could feel Marit, and his terror had subsided somewhat. She could feel their bond pulsing healthy and strong, and she could feel his love for her, so hidden that Marit himself was barely aware of it, but surely there.

For a moment, a second, an instant in time. Sunia was sure that Marit would send the Dean away again.

Then she felt it. All the images of Companions from his childhood. All the tales of demons coming back to haunt him. She felt his resolve and hardly dared to breathe as she waited for his answer.

"It, do. Chosen, I have."

Sunia felt as though her soul were shattering into thousands of tiny shards. The gods were cruel. She would be the instrument of her own death, she had no choice.

Every law that had been laid out to the first Groveborn, which Sunia had dutifully recited since childhood, told her what she had to do. Yet, she could not deny herself the chance to appeal one last time.

_:Chosen, is this what you want? I love you. I just want you to be happy, but I want you to be happy with me. I know you love me, and you could be happy here if you tried! Are you sure about this, Chosen?:_ Sunia pleaded.

_:Do it.:_

_:Very well, love.:_ Pieces of Sunia that she had thought long shattered burst again at his hard reply. She could feel Varen and Taver moving to either side of her, supporting her, lending strength for what she must do.

'Gods help me.' Sunia prayed.

She inserted herself into Marit's mind as gently as she could, imprinting this last moment of their togetherness on her own soul, to treasure for the few remaining days of her life.

Sunia grasped the bond that held them together. How well she remembered forging it, having made it to last to death and beyond.

She knew that prolonging it would not spare her any pain at all, so she grabbed their bond and tugged as hard as she could.

Mercifully, she blacked out after only a few moments of the bleak, empty grayness that was the agony of a broken bond.

When she awoke, all she could feel was Marit's distress and agony. The other Companions had obviously taken her to Companion's field, and they still surrounded her, waiting anxiously for her to wake.

All she could feel was Marit, they no longer had a bond, but she was still consumed by his despair.

As he came closer and closer, obviously looking for her, Varen huddled close to her, lending his support.

Marit looked like she felt. She stared at him, drinking in the sight of her love. Listening to his gentle MindVoice was almost more than she could bear. The deep sadness in it moved her to tears.

_:Sunia, Sunia. I love you, I need you. Take me back.:_ Marit sobbed in apology, dropping to his knees in front of her.

'My love, my love!' Sunia thought. 'I knew this would happen, but I can't do it. We are broken for ever.'

By the strictest codes of Companions, she could no longer even speak to him, so when she whispered a tearful goodbye, it stayed only within her mind and that of the nearest Companions.

She turned her back, nudged by Varen, but not before fixing every nuance of his image in her mind. 'Goodbye, Marit, my love.' She said to herself.

And then she was gone.


	3. Epilogue

Disclaimer:  No, sadly, I did not suddenly get to own everything overnight.  This all belongs to Mercedes Lackey, except for the characters, which have told me in no uncertain terms that I'm stuck with them.

You guys probably will kill me over this chapter.  It's just an epilogue, really.  A couple of paragraphs, no more, and a chance to respond to reviews on my Companion point of view.

Tenshi:  :D Well, I like it better this way, anyway.  I hope it was good and sad, it was meant to be depressing.

Fireblade:  Well, you probably won't like what's coming next.  –Herald cringes-  Don't kill me, please.

Breezefire:  Thanks, although I liked the beginning of that chapter the best.  It showed how she was so happy, and then, well, it went bad.

Vaches:  Thanks!  I'm glad you enjoyed my little wallow in angst.

Wizard:  Thanks.  The third part should be interesting.

Ok guys, here we go, this is the end.  At this point, Sunia is barely conscious and basically broken past repair.  She won't live too long after that, I'm afraid, although Marit has a chance to live.  Marit, also, is so much in pain as to be nearly dead.  He is still watching Sunia being led away. 

Don't worry, I'll be as nice to them as I can, given the situation.  I even tried to make the ending have a slight tinge of happiness to it, in a skewed way.

Chapter 3: Epilogue

Sunia was in a state that few had ever seen a Companion in.  Her coat looked dry and brittle, her eyes dead, with all of hell trapped inside them.

She bore no resemblance at all to the cheerful creature that had departed on her Call only half a moon ago, Varen thought, with more regret than he knew how to express aloud.

They would be hard pressed to get her to the Grove without her collapsing, Varen mused dispassionately, his cold thought covering his despair at seeing Sunia brought so low.

Her name seemed now a hideous irony, a joke played on her by some malevolent god or higher being.

As they reached the temple, Sunia, head down, twigs snarled in her mane and tail, walked towards the temple in the Grove.

Although she obviously needed physical support, they were not allowed to give it to her.  She had to take these final steps on her own.  She lay down inside the shrine, head drooping.

Varen and Taver stepped forwards together, Taver as the highest ranked Companion present, and Varen as the closest to Sunia.

Together, they spoke the ritual mantra of respect and farewell.

_:May you find the peace you have been denied.  In not in this life, then in the next.: _Taver intoned calmly.

Varen's Mindvoice almost shattered, and nobody present could deny the depths of his sorrow.

_:And may we all someday meet again.:_

As one, the Companions felt the grief-wracked core that was Sunia dim and fade, and then she was gone, through the mercy and power of the Temple, as surely as though she had never been.

As one, they bowed their heads in respect to her passing and a moment of silence grasped the Grove in its clutches.

Marit knew of her passing, knew within the depths of his own body as he would have known his own death, so deeply were they yet tied together, even after the severing of the Bond.

When the Companions, heads still bent in sorrow, gathered in groups of twos and threes back in the Field, they found a pitiful bundle of humanity waiting for them.

Marit was unaware of anything around him, so completely was he lost in his own sorrow.  Being a simple Karsite farmer, he had never been taught the techniques of grounding and centering that all Gifted Valdemarans learned. 

In his grief, even the rudimentary centering that his own body had imposed left him, leaving him utterly without focus, lost in an eternity of his own pain, unable to break free of it.

When the Companions saw him, they knew instantly what had happened.

Taver, endowed with all the wisdom and memories of centuries of Monarch's Own Companions, recalled the story of Vanyel Ashkevron.  After losing himself to his pain in such a way, he had eventually recovered, but only with the help of his Companion, Yfandes.  Without Sunia, Marit stood almost no chance of recovering.  Still, he was one of them, or had been, and they owed him their help.

_:We must call a Healer.:  _Taver said to the others.

They each reached out to their Chosen, sending the situation in a wordless burst of communication.

Within moments, a MindHealer and a Trainee who was presumably working with her bustled up to the Companions.

"Alright, let's have a look.  Don't worry, we'll soon sort him out."

She was using her Healing Voice, Taver noticed, which was not good.  The cheerful, light voice that Healers used to reassure people that everything was going to be fine when, in fact, they really had no idea.  The meaningless phrases meant to give comfort, but which always seemed to fall flat.

The woman looked so thin and birdlike that Taver wouldn't have thought her capable of lifting a loaded dinner plate, let alone a patient the size of Marit, so he stepped forward, indicating with his head and the slightest hint of telepathic projection that she should place Marit on Taver's back.

Taver could feel Marit's pain at being atop a Companion again.  After all, to a foreigner, they all looked very alike, and so soon after Sunia's death, it must have been unbearable for Marit to be this close to another Companion.

Of course, it was imperative that they get him to the House of Healing, and Taver tried to remember this as he struggled to barricade his mind from Marit's fear strikes, filled with compassion for the pain so strong that it nearly overwhelmed even the legendary shields of a Companion with it's power.

When they finally got him into a room, Taver could sense the team of MindHealers already shaking their heads as they exerted their Gifts to assess the situation.  Taver left them to their business, knowing that his presence, even mentally, would only make matters worse.

"What do you think?"  One of the MindHealers asked the birdlike woman who had gone to fetch Marit.  "Can he be Healed?"

"We could bring him out of it, maybe, but he would never be whole in mind again.  I doubt if this bond breaking has been put into practice that often, and I believe the Heralds underestimated the damage it would do to Marit's mind.  He has no real reason to live anymore."

One of the Trainees asked quietly "Is this one of the ones we cannot save?"

The Healers looked at each other sadly.  It was one of the last lessons taught to a Healer.  What do you do with the ones that are too far gone for your help?

"Let us allow him to rest in dignity.  There is nothing for him here, now, and his Companion doubtless awaits him in the Havens."

Far away, in Companion's Field, dozens of Companions turned to face the Grove, as if pulled by an invisible string.  Far away, the Death Bell began to cry in it's somber tones, ringing the peals that told of a Herald dead.

_:He wasn't a Trainee.:  _Varen said in wonder.

_:He was Chosen.  That makes him one of us.:  _Taver corrected gently.

_:Sunia would have liked that.:_

_:Yes, she would have.:_


End file.
